Changing
by EE's Skysong
Summary: I caught her studying me often, though, but I tried not to think about that. It had been two years, and nothing had happened between us. It was doubtful that would change. Looking back, I was always wrong when it came to that girl… Longerbee, twoshot.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: "If you wanna be somebody else If you're tired of fighting battles With yourself If you wanna be somebody else Change your mind"

(An: I read a fic from Longshot's POV, and I figured it would be a lot of fun to write someone who couldn't actually speak. I'm going to use female pronouns for Smellerbee the whole way through because this is Longshot looking back, and of course he wouldn't think of her as a boy. So… yeah. He only thinks she's a boy for two scenes, anyway. Also, Iroh and Zuko get referred to as Mushi and Lee because… well, it's funny.)

When I first met her, I didn't know.

The Duke, coming back from scouting one night, told us he'd seen smoke on the horizon. Jet had nodded, his face solemn. I could tell the exact words he was thinking- _Another village burned._ He tossed his drink into the fire, and we left.

There were less of us then: just me, Jet, the Duke, and Pipsqueak. We hadn't named ourselves yet- back then, we were just a bunch of kids trailing after Jet. We had stopped a few Fire Nation raids, but it hadn't been enough to band us into the Freedom Fighters we would be one day.

The town was a smoking ruin, but most of the buildings were still standing. Pipsqueak and the Duke started putting out the fires, and Jet and I went to look for survivors outside the village.

I found her by a river. Her clothes were torn and burnt, and she was cutting her hair with a stone dagger. At the time, I thought she was a boy. She was about ten, so she hadn't started to… _show_, and it was normal for warriors to wear their hair in a wolftail or topknot.

I made sure to make a lot of nose when I approached; I didn't want to startle her into cutting herself, and it just didn't feel _right_ to find her while she was doing something so private. Cutting off her hair meant she had lost her honor.

I snapped a twig, and she whirled, nearly dropping the knife. "Who's there?" She glanced around, eyes feral.

I stepped out of the forest, holding up my hands. I set down my bow, inclining my head.

She had wide, dark eyes, half-hidden beneath a blue bandana. Four raw burns marked her cheeks, twins on either side. "Who are you?" she demanded. Instead of putting down the dagger, she brandished it, daring me to challenge her.

I just stared back, walking over to sit by her.

She looked me over, still wary. "Can't you talk?"

I rolled my eyes with a mental sigh. Every time I got asked that it got more annoying. You'd think people would know not to ask.

She raised an eyebrow. "Can't or won't?"

I blinked. Ordinarily, people apologized for asking or offered a feeble quip. I far preferred her way.

She shrugged and started hacking at her hair again. When she finished, she looked down at her reflection in the water, the shaggy remnants of her hair hiding her face. I reached over and took the dagger from her shaking hands. She jerked away when I touched her and nicked my palm. Quietly, she ripped off a strip of her shirt and tied off the wound.

I liked her already. She didn't apologize, she just dealt with things. And, even better, she didn't feel the need to fill my silence. She just stood there, her shoulders shaking and her eyes closed.

There was a shrill whistle from the distance. I returned it. She glanced at me, looking suspicious, but I held up a hand, giving her back her dagger.

A few moments later, Jet arrived. He looked around. "No one else?" I shook my head.

"You shouldn't have bothered," the "boy" muttered. "I'm just here because I ran. The only others they let live were the benders and some of the women."

"Just like the Fire Nation," Jet muttered. He plucked a strand of grass and started to chew it, looking agitated. "My name's Jet, and this is Longshot." He looked at the "boy".

"Smellerbee," she muttered. I raised an eyebrow. She glared at me and pointed at the marks on her face. "The raiders thought it was pretty funny, too, so they gave me these. They said I should look the part… besides," she crossed her arms, "it's not any weirder than 'Longshot'." She looked back at Jet. "What do you want?"

Jet held out a hand. "I want you to join us."

Smellerbee wasn't impressed. "Who's 'us'?"

"Me, him, the Duke, and Pipsqueak. The Fire Nation left us homeless, too." Smellerbee winced. "We try to stop their attacks and help people they've affected."

"And you're asking me to join you? …_Why_?"

"I'm assuming you know how to use that," Jet replied, pointing at her dagger. "We could use another pair of eyes, anyway."

She looked at the ground, tracing the wounds on her cheeks. "But I _ran_," she whispered.

"You aren't running now," Jet replied with a shrug. He cocked his head, hearing two calls that hadn't been made by birds. "There's the others. Are you with us?" Smellerbee nodded slowly, and Jet clapped her on the back. "Good man." Smellerbee made a face for no apparent reason as we walked away.

O-o-O-o-O

Anyone from her village would never have recognized the Smellerbee of a month later. Her gender was hidden beneath a chestplate, her hair was cropped and messy, and the scars on her cheeks were covered with red facepaint. We were friends by that point. She was the only one but Jet who always understood me.

O-o-O-o-O

I didn't find out for two years. It was in the middle of the night. We had established our tree haven and earned our name by then, and I had to awaken her for her turn on watch.

When I peered into her room, I saw her curled up in a moonbeam. I froze. The person laying there couldn't be Smellerbee. She was too perfect, too lovely, too… _female_. Without the chestplate, it was kind of obvious she wasn't a boy. Her face, while not exactly happy, was more peaceful- in sleep, she lost her "Mess with me, I _dare_ you" expression.

I took a step forward, and a floorboard creaked. Smellerbee, always tense, stirred; her hand crept under her pillow to a dagger before her eyes opened. She sat up, squinting, and spotted me.

I was still gaping. I just couldn't seem to accept it- Smellerbee, a _girl_? I'd never met anyone so masculine.

She set down the dagger when she recognized me, turning red even as her brows snapped together in her usual defiant stare. "Are you just going to gawk all night? What do you want?"

I blinked and gestured vaguely outside. Despite her "Keep staring and you die" glare, I couldn't look away.

"Oh, right, my turn for watch." She got up, tugging her shirt closed around herself. She didn't seem embarrassed; she was blushing, but it was because she had been caught out, not from modesty. She strapped on her chestplate and tied her bandana, tucking her daggers into their sheathes. When she was fully dressed, she hesitated, her expression softening. "Longshot, I know I never said anything, but… I was afraid you all wouldn't take me seriously if I did... this isn't going to change things, right?"

I shook my head, but the odd feeling welling up in my chest begged to differ.

O-o-O-o-O

Despite my silent promise, things did change. She seemed more willing to relax around me because of my discovery. While she never prattled, I learned a lot about her in the year that followed.

One thing that surprised me was her insecurities. I had never seen her afraid, but here she was, telling me how nervous living with a bunch of boys made her.

"I mean, you don't bother me, Longshot," she murmured one night. "You get it- you always do. But I get the feeling that if I told anyone else, they'd either laugh or just kinda stare… you know?" She sighed, and I put an arm around her shoulders, trying to ignore the little thrill I felt when she leaned against me. "And it's just plain _weird_, being a girl. Like sometimes, when I look at Jet…" But she shook her head, the faintest tint of color in her cheeks.

I didn't let go because I knew she needed me, even though I wanted to move away. This was even more unfair than my previous reason for hiding my feelings- I had thought she was too young to understand. But now it was clear she understood very well, just not in the way I'd hoped.

I felt guilty, too- not just because of what I was hiding from her, but also because I could never be that open, even if she did usually know what I was trying to say.

O-o-O-o-O

Things went on that way for a long time. Smellerbee never spoke of her crush on Jet again, but I noticed that the only time she got short with me was when she felt he had ignored her. I, of course, never tried to make my feelings apparent; it would have been too hard, to know it was the only thing she would never understand. It was hard to find sure footing with her though, like when the Avatar came to our camp.

When we ate, Smellerbee's words were clipped. Ordinarily, dinner was when she talked the most- trading insults with the Duke, swearing at Pipsqueak when he stole her food, discussing tactics with Jet. But today she was quiet, glaring at her plate.

I nudged her, an eyebrow raised. She scowled at me. In retaliation, I took her apple, but she didn't seem to notice. Her eyes had strayed to Jet, talking with the Avatar and his companions. I nudged her again, trying not to let my amusement show. She glanced at me and made a face. "Would you leave me alone, Longshot?" she snapped. "I'm fine. There's absolutely nothing wrong." She got up and left without touching her food.

I let her stew for what seemed like an appropriate amount of time, tossing her apple from hand to hand, then went to find her.

She was hiding in one of the taller trees, where she knew no one would bother her. Except me, of course. She didn't glare at me or call me something obscene when I approached, she just continued staring out at the canopy. She accepted her apple, taking a thoughtful bite as I sat beside her. "Quit giving me that look," she said after a while. "I am _not_ jealous."

I raised an eyebrow, unaware I'd suggested any such thing… even if I _had_ been thinking it.

Smellerbee crossed her arms and grimaced. "Ok, maybe I am. So what?" She sighed, resting her head on her arms. "I'm not jealous like that-" she clasped her hands beneath her chin and fluttered her eyelashes, "-I'm just…" She shrugged. "That girl Katara is everything I'm not, and it's obvious who _he_ prefers." She groaned in disgust. "I don't even know why it's bothering me. I like who I am. What is it about him that makes me want to change?"

I shrugged. I knew what she meant. Nobody made me want to break my silence like she did.

She studied me, then asked, "You don't want me to change, do you, Longshot?"

I could only blink for a second. It was amazing how often she pulled the rug out from under my feet. I shook my head vehemently. _Never,_ I wanted to say, _never, never, never._ I put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, realizing with a start that what I really wanted to do was kiss her.

But this gesture was far more brotherly, and that was all I'd ever be to her.

She surprised me by hugging back and burying her face in my chest. "Why am I even _bothered_?" she asked. "Jet doesn't know I'm a girl, and I like it that way!" I prodded her gently, and she looked up. "Why haven't I told him?" She shrugged, leaning against me again. "I guess I'm afraid he won't respect me as much or something." I rubbed her back. "I know I've proved myself, I just… I don't like change." Now I hugged her. I understood that very well. She glanced up again, her dark eyes innocuous. "Are you all right? Your heart's going that fast…"

Damn. So she _had_ noticed. I raised and lowered a shoulder in a one-armed shrug and played with a strand of her hair, trying to look unbothered by the question. I wished she was still a foot shorter than me; since she had caught up to me in height, the temptation to close the inches between our lips was unbearable.

"What is it?" she asked. Could she really not know?

There was a conspicuously loud bang from somewhere down the hall. Both of us jumped at the sound, and the moment (much to my relief) was broken. She let go of me and stepped away. "Pipsqueak," she muttered. She sighed and looked out the window again.

O-o-O-o-O

After the flooding of the town, we found Jet frozen to a tree. He was straining for a hayseed just beyond his reach. "There you guys are!" Smellerbee crossed her arms. "Are you going to help me or what?" he asked after a moment.

I held back because of the intense look on Smellerbee's face. "Things need to change, Jet," she said, after a moment.

Jet paused, a frown settling over his face. "What do you mean?"

"I did a lot of thinking, and Ponytail actually had a point. We did the wrong thing here. You're always going on about how the Fire Nation left us homeless, but we just did the same to those people!" Jet opened his mouth. "No! I'm not listening to you anymore." She drew her dagger. "Longshot and I are getting out of here." I looked at her; I hadn't been aware of this. She hadn't spoken to me all day, even when I'd gotten her down from the trap. She gave me an "of course you are" look. She _did _have a point. Jet's fiery words and our old wounds meant little when faced with people left in our situation. She added, "The Duke and Sneers have already left."

Jet blinked. "What about Pipsqueak?"

"He's up a tree," Smellerbee replied, with a hint of a smirk; I had pointedly ignored him when I'd freed her. She shook herself. "But that's not the point! We'll let you come with us if you promise that this is the end."

"Of what?"

"Of the Freedom Fighters! We went too far. What about next time?" She glared at him. "Where does it stop, Jet?"

Jet glared back. He knew his usual flash wouldn't work. Although stubborn and obsessive, Jet wasn't stupid. He still had one last tack to try, though. "You went along with it."

Now I scowled. I put an arm around Smellerbee and started to lead her away.

"Wait!" Jet hung his head and sighed. "Do I at least get to know where we're going?"

Smellerbee rolled her eyes and started chipping at the ice. "Probably Ba Sing Se. No Fire Nation there. We can start over."

Jet frowned but kept his mouth shut.

(Click onward for the other half… It's not that long to me, but I cut it up in case someone wanted a break.)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: "You always talk too much Too little Too late Too much Too little Too late For me to figure out"

(An: Here is the other half, in which we have the fight scenes and the "romance"… I don't know what I was ON when I wrote this, but at least it's something Longerbee.

The Fire Nation attacked that night. We were ready to leave, waiting for Jet at the bottom of the main tree, when an arrow sprouted in the trunk, just missing my head. My bow was in my hands in an instant; an arrow strung, I waited for the archer to make a sound.

A branch rustled to our left. Smellerbee pulled out her dagger. "I've come to get my sword back, boy." Smellerbee's eye twitched, and she pounced. I felt sorry for him, really.

I shot at the next noise I heard and was rewarded with a yell. I fired again, and the scream ended abruptly.

I'd never been good at hand-to-hand combat, but at least the third guy didn't surprise me. There was a crack behind me, and I whirled. Another soldier ran at me. I flipped up my bow, blocking his sword. I had a knife, but I didn't think I could hold him off one-handed. There was a pause as we just stared at each other; this guy was definitely inexperienced. He tried to free his sword, but it was lodged firmly in the ash.

I yanked back, wincing at the splinters. He stumbled, and I slammed the bow into his chest (by then, it wasn't good for much else…). He went down, arms flailing. I felt a sharp pain and realized he'd grazed my side. I tripped as the man tried to get up. He didn't get a chance; Smellerbee stabbed him and turned to me.

"Longshot-" she started, and then she noticed I was bleeding. Her eyes widened. She gently pushed me backwards, away from the body and against a tree. "Stay still, ok?" she whispered, her voice trembling. She opened my tunic and ran her fingers over my abdomen. "You're such an _idiot_!" But she sounded intensely relieved.

She glanced around for anything to staunch the wound and started unwrapping the bandages on my arms. I twitched away unconsciously; there was a reason I wore those. She glared at me. "It's not serious, but it _will _be if you don't let me stop the bleeding." I blinked, realizing she was terrified. Was she really that shaken up by the thought of me getting hurt? It was actually rather gratifying.

I held out my hands, and she began again. She paused just past my wrist. I'd known she would. She shook herself and unwrapped the rest, pressing the pad to my side. She unwound the wrappings on my other arm and tied off the wound.

Then she sat back on her heels and looked up at me. "So it's can't?" she murmured. I nodded. She sat down beside me, lightly tracing one of the scars on my arms. "I always wondered why you got sore before it rained." I made a face at her and closed my eyes; I was too tired to argue.

When Jet finally appeared, Smellerbee yelled, "What took you so long?"

Jet ignored her, surveying the scene. "Nice work. What-" He looked at us and frowned, cocking his head. Then he rolled his eyes and hopped to the ground. "What happened to Longshot?"

"He got sloppy," said Smellerbee in the most affectionate tone I'd ever heard her use. She ignored my incredulous stare and tugged me to my feet. "Come on, you can walk."

O-o-O-o-O

All the songs, no matter how stupid, were right: it was a long, _long_ way to Ba Sing Se. Amazingly, though, we got to the ferry that would bring us there without much trouble. We were only attacked once.

I was trying to find a comfortable position on the ground (it was raining, and now I had a new scar to bug me), when an arrow whizzed past my nose. _Why do they _always_ shoot at me?_ I wondered, listening for anything that would tell me where my assailant was.

Smellerbee and Jet were up now, too, Jet drawing his shuang gou, Smellerbee's eyes flicking around the edges of our camp.

A lazy-looking bandit stepped out of the shadows. "Why don't you just give up? I'm sure you're eager to go back to sleep."

I fired a warning shot, my arrow nicking his shoulder.

The bandit heaved a belabored sigh. "Keep that in mind, boys- I did try to warn them," he said, like _we_ were the ones bothering them. Five more bandits melted out of the forest.

Smellerbee suppressed a yawn. "Can we get this over with? I was having a good dream."

The bandit smirked and lowered his arm. Another arrow flew out of the treetops. Jet dodged it and eyed the leader, looking bored.

_Rule number one,_ I thought, searching out the archer, _never make the first move._ A branch groaned, and the archer fell from his tree, my arrow in his leg.

One of the bandits swore and started for me, and the fight began in earnest. Jet went for the leader, who drew a broadsword. They weren't going anywhere. Smellerbee threw a dagger at the bandit aiming for me. I brought him down with another arrow and a sour look. Sore arms or not, I did _not_ need her help. She shrugged at me and crouched to retrieve her dagger. When one of the men came at her with a spear, she jumped up and swept his legs out from beneath him. The bandit landed on top of his prone friend and swore again as she kicked him in the head.

I glanced at Jet and the leader; they were pretty evenly matched. Jet was fast with his shuang gou, but the broadsword could parry them without a problem.

Smellerbee was assailed by two at once. I fired at the closest one; the arrow buried itself in his back, and Smellerbee took him out. She pulled a face at me. To emphasize that she didn't need my help either, she slammed her knee into the other bandit's chest and knifed him in the side.

The last man, who had been trying to help his leader, saw me with another arrow taut and Smellerbee sizing him up. Wisely, he ran.

"Smart," commented Smellerbee, sitting on the one she'd kicked in the head. While it was a good idea in theory, it wasn't so much in practice. He flung her off, using his momentum to sit up _and_ to slam her into a tree. There was a nasty crack; I had an arrow nocked and pointed at his throat in an instant. If he'd hurt her... Smellerbee swore loudly in the background, and I breathed an inner sigh of relief. The man stood, holding his hands out.

"You'd better run," yawned Jet in the background, wiping blood off one of his shuang gou. "Longshot never misses, and those arrows can puncture armor. I'd hate to think what they could do to you at point-blank range."

He fled, and I dropped my bow in my haste to get to Smellerbee. She was dazed and couldn't quite focus. Jet bent and began to feel along her arms for breaks. "Greenstick," he decided after a moment. She didn't resist until he started to undo her chestplate.

"No!" She tried to move out of his grasp, but Jet was stronger.

"Calm down, would you? Modesty's a lot less important than a possible cracked rib."

"At least let me do it, then," she snapped. She undid the straps and managed to take it off one-handed, swearing when it jostled her arm. "There, ok?"

Jet's reaction was eerily similar to mine: a blank stare. Wasn't he supposed to be good with girls? I didn't have a prayer. "Um…?"

She ignored him and got up. "Yeah, I'm a girl. So if you don't mind, I'll inspect myself." She turned her back and reached up her shirt, feeling for anything unusual.

Jet looked at me and noticed I was already looking away. "You knew!"

"He found out by accident," Smellerbee replied. "He kept it a secret because I asked."

"Four years, Smellerbee, four years! And you never thought to tell _me_?"

Smellerbee shrugged, looking uncomfortable. She closed her shirt. I glanced at her. "Nothing's broken but the arm. Quit worrying about me. I can take care of myself." I knew she was upset, but that stung. I _liked_ protecting her. It was different in the fight; right now, she was just trying to irk me. She looked at Jet. "The same goes for you. It's not that big of a deal."

"Were you just planning to be a guy for the rest of your life?" Jet demanded.

"I meant to tell you eventually," she mumbled, turning red. "But it's not easy to bring up. 'Morning, Jet, how are you? I'm fine, too. Oh, and a girl. How about that, huh?'"

Jet pinched the bridge of his nose. Mortification was the only thing that made him look like a teenager. "But I _undressed _in front of you."

"Oh, suck it up. It's not like I looked… much." Jet blinked. "That was a joke."

He sighed. "Longshot, splint her arm." I raised an eyebrow. "Because! _I_ am going back to bed!"

I rolled my eyes and picked up a suitable-looking stick. I sat beside her, and she held out her arm without meeting my eyes. I started wrapping it, keeping my face mild. She flinched, and I looked up, and for a second, all I could do was stare at her. "We need to stop meeting like this," she mumbled. I shook myself and started again. When I finished, I started to get up. I didn't want to take any chances on doing something stupid.

But she yanked me down again with her good arm. I blinked. "I don't feel like moving and you're warm, that's why," she replied, resting her head on my shoulder. "Now things are going to be all awkward." I carefully put an arm around her, trying to avoid her bruises. "It doesn't bother me that much, though." She yawned. "Maybe it's because you're here. You always accept me." I glanced down at her, my eyes wide, but she was asleep. I didn't close my eyes for a long while, watching the moon. I knew that if I stared at her, I wouldn't get any rest.

O-o-O-o-O

Smellerbee didn't relax around Jet as she had me- did that means she still had a crush on him, or that our friendship was stronger? In fact, she didn't talk much at all in the next few days; she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. This suited me and Jet just fine.

He didn't seem that bothered by Smellerbee's revelation; Jet was the sort who could shrug and move on once the initial shock had passed without much trouble. It wasn't like she _acted_ like a girl, after all. The only time she ever did was when offended, but even then her honesty was boyish.

Oddly enough, Smellerbee barely glanced at him during that time. I caught her studying me often, though, but I tried not to think about that. It had been two years, and nothing had happened between us. It was doubtful that would change.

Looking back, I was _always_ wrong when it came to that girl…

O-o-O-o-O

I enjoyed the ferry ride to Ba Sing Se. The two refugees Jet befriended were nice enough, and it really did seem like we were on our way to a fresh start.

"Being a girl is hard," Smellerbee muttered, on the night Mushi confused her for a boy. "_I'm_ not any different, but it changes everything. I know it's unavoidable, but that doesn't mean I have to like it, right?" I looked down at her, raising my eyebrows, and she made a face at me. "You already told me that. I know it doesn't matter what other people think, but-" she paused, looking at me oddly, "-sometimes it does." I wrinkled my nose, confused, but she had already walked off.

In the morning Mushi appeared bearing a teapot, cups and a sheepish grin. Lee trailed along in his wake, looking disgusted. Smellerbee eyed him, skeptical. Mushi sat down in front of her and poured a cup of tea as he said, "I realize that words will do little to make up for my grievous mistake, so I was hoping I could tempt you with a soothing cup of," he held up the drink, "jasmine tea?"

Lee, behind him, rubbed his temples. "Uncle, not all of life's problems can be solved with tea."

Mushi looked horrified. "The day I believe that is the day life is not worth living!" Smellerbee rolled her eyes and took the cup. Mushi beamed at her and held out another to me. "And every lady needs a stalwart defender!"

I blinked, and Smellerbee almost choked on her tea. "'Stalwart defender'?" she asked, lips twitching.

Mushi shrugged as I took the cup. "They can't all be winners, my dear. Lee, would you-"

"No," said Lee, his face flat.

"Suit yourself." Mushi poured himself a cup and took a long sip, looking rapturous. "If only the captain had had some ginseng. This morning would have been perfect." Lee's eye twitched. Mushi ignored him and looked at me. "So, are you as skilled with the longbow as the short?"

I grimaced, taking a drink of my tea. Smellerbee gave up and collapsed in helpless giggles. It took her several minutes to calm enough to explain my opinion.

O-o-O-o-O

They really were all right, which was why Smellerbee was so incensed when Jet told us his suspicions. "So much for changing," she muttered when he left. "I mean, it's nice that _you_ don't change. But him? He's just being stubborn." I cocked my head, and she closed her eyes. "I'm trying to change… I'm just…" She looked at me, her wide eyes pleading. "I'm not very good at it." She looked at me a moment longer, then shook her head, looking annoyed with herself. She walked away, leaving me with the feeling I'd just missed something very important.

O-o-O-o-O

Life in Ba Sing Se was different, but not in a bad way. We had enough money to rent a one-room place to stay, and jobs weren't hard to find. Smellerbee, however, was annoyed by Jet's inability to let his misgivings go. "He's putting us in danger," she murmured, staring at the moon on our first night in the city. "The people here are really picky about their peace. If he makes trouble, we'll lose everything." I looked down at her, surprised that she would think anything could ever make me leave her side. "I know, but still. Thinking about it scares me." I slipped my arms around her waist. _Don't worry,_ I wanted to murmur in her ear.

Even if I could speak, I wouldn't have gotten the chance. She brushed my cheek, and then she was kissing me. And that made all of this just a dream. A good dream, but a dream nonetheless, and I would wake up in our house in a minute and probably spend the rest of the night awake, listening to her breathe.

And then I shifted a little, and my quiver scraped my back. That never happened in dreams. My eyes flew open, and I backed away.

Smellerbee turned very red and ducked her head. I could feel myself blushing as well. "Um…" Realizing what she thought, I tilted her chin up and made her look at me. "I told you I wasn't very good," she murmured, avoiding my eyes. "I mean, I tried to think of a way to tell you, but I thought you knew, and-" She paused, meeting my disbelieving gaze. "What?"

I shook my head, amazed that she had been friends with me for so long and still thought words meant anything. I leaned forward and kissed her. Smellerbee seemed surprised, but she was willing enough once the shock wore off.

O-o-O-o-O

It was hard, walking away from Jet, but we did. "After all," Smellerbee murmured, leaning against me, "why bother changing if you're going to be half-assed?"

(Definitely not the fic I was intending to write. I guess it's well enough in its own right, though.)


End file.
